Black Cat's Strayed Path
by sapphirechamp
Summary: LadyNoir/BadLuck/Catbug/etc. AU. It's Valentines Day in Paris, and Cat Noir is finally ready to profess his feelings in full for Ladybug, but things do not go as planned. A sinister offer is made, and a new villain is darting around the streets of Paris waiting and biding their time till the right moment.
1. Heart Break, Run Away

Hello once more! Some background with this, I know we've had a Valentines day Episode but I had come up with this before and just haven't had time to write it out. I do now and instead of making this a one shot as I had intended, I decided to make this a chaptered fic. I hope you all enjoy.

Disclaimer I do not own any of the characters or original works, just this idea and the writing.

* * *

Cat Noir would like to think he had amazing patience, he really would given some of the crazy villains he's faced alongside Ladybug but the situation he was currently trapped in was slowly whittling that patience down to nonexistence. Sure the fighting had been easy, the villain hadn't been all that powerful but he was fast and he kept dodging the super hero duo at every corner before they'd managed to corner him in a new building complex and both were running out of time for how much longer their transformations were going to last.

The mayor had arrived shortly after that, coming into congratulate and thank them for their service, which normally Cat would not mind under better circumstances but these were not better circumstances. Ladybug was busy still making sure the victim of the akuma was alright, he could just see where they were from his peripheral and he was worried she wasn't keeping an eye on her time. He also wanted to give the lovely lady something as well.

Valentine's Day had snuck upon Paris and he wanted to give his lady something special, something that explained his feelings in total. All he could think to do was write a letter though, but he was giving it his all and putting his heart on the line.

What he hadn't expected was getting his heart broken in quite the way it would.

* * *

"Bye-bye butterfly." Ladybug smiled, watching the white creature flutter off to who knows where now that it had been cleansed. She gave a sigh, this villain hadn't been tough but he was fast and kept dodging her and Cat Noir at every corner they'd trapped him in. It took quite the odd trick of conveniently spilled tar to finally catch him and get the akuma, They were lucky this time, her Miraculous Cure didn't have much to clean up and once they had caught their villain he had been easy to subdue.

The heroine looked to Hawk Moth's newest victim, and smiled as he slowly regained his senses. "Are you alright?" The question caused the boy to blink, before he looked at her with awe.

"Y-you're Ladybug! The Ladybug!" Marinette raised a brow at that, so he was a Ladybug fan. Oh well she met many of those, and seeing as he was just de-akumed she could indulge him a little bit. "Yes I am. I take it you're a fan?"

Furious nodding from the young man, and he scrambled to find something and making a triumphant noise when he produced a pen and a news clipping with her on it. "W-would you mind s-signing it?"

"Not at all." She smiled before taking the paper and pen, writing a small message and signing her mark and returning it to the boy.

"Oh wow thank you!" He exclaimed, holding the paper with awe and reverence before looking down at the ground and shyly "And well for saving me."

Ladybug opens her mouth to respond, to say it was no big deal, but the words die in her throat as the boy suddenly leans over and gives her a quick, chaste kiss on the cheek before pulling back and looking extremely embarrassed and flustered.

She gives him a look, ready to reprimand him for the action but a gasp, and the sound of footsteps once again causes her to stop, and oddly enough her heart to feel like it was encased in ice.

She rushed out from behind the tarp, hand reached out as she tried to call out to her partner. She was too slow though, and all she had gotten to see was Cat's tail as he jumped out of one the windows. She wanted to give chase, but her miraculous was running out of power, she had no choice but to leave the scene and hope that she could explain it all to Cat next time she saw him.

* * *

Adrien was being a little ridiculous, he knew that, running away from the warehouse before he'd even talking to Ladybug or investigating it fully. Did she know the akumatized person? Were they close? They had to be, seeing as they had been kissing. Well it certainly looked like kissing from Adrien's position.

He felt the heat of tears building up behind his eyes, and he did not want to get caught crying by the general public of Paris seeing one of their heroes break down crying, that would do no good for anyone's moral. So he quickly ducked into a darkened alley way, pressing his back against one of the walls and taking quick harsh breaths, if they were caused by his run or if it was a prelude to crying he couldn't say. A part of Adrien's mind was telling him to undo the transformation, the same parting reminding him that he was being irrational and letting his emotions get the best of him, but that part of his mind was blocked by a haze and sounded so distance as a million other thoughts were racing through his head.

He pulled out the note from his pocket, unfolding it gently and staring at it sadly, the words blurring into an unrecognizable mess as his tears built up and slowly started to fall down onto the paper. Everything he felt for Ladybug was on that paper, he'd worked hard to find a way to articulate his feelings the best possible way he could. Every ounce of his love for her, from light admiration he'd felt when they had first met that had grown into something _more_ as they spent more and more time together as a time. Most importantly though, he had put in just how _grateful_ he was to her, to this beautiful, amazing, talented, heroic individual who took him as he really wanted to be and never pushed him away, and let him be _him_ for the first time in his life. Sure he had friends like Nino, but he still had to be polite and quiet and reserved because that was expected of him, but as Cat Noir he got to be freer than he'd ever been in his life and he got to be that with her and she'd never shunned him or acted like it was wrong of him to act this way. He knew he'd never be able to properly thank her or tell her, but god if he didn't try with this note. Though now it seems to have been all for naught, she had another and now all he could really hope for was that his reaction hadn't caused her to hate him.

So lost in his thoughts he didn't notice the little things going on around him, not the noise of people walking through the illuminated outlet of the alley, not of his ring beeping in further warning that his time was almost up as Cat Noir for now, and certainly not a little black butterfly that was flittering ever closer to him.

* * *

Hawk Moth couldn't believe his luck, not only would have two chances in one day for a strong akuma to assist him in his attempts to get the miraculous stones, that would have been a stroke of luck in its own right but considering whom the new victim would be?

Hawk Moth could not have stopped the laugh from leaving him if he had tried, it was all too perfect. This would be his best akuma yet, and if he put a little more power into this butterfly, well that was just insurance that his plan would work after all.

* * *

Adrien's thoughts had only cleared a little due to a somewhat panicky feeling starting to form in him. He knew it wasn't from him, but he quickly figured out it was from Plagg, though he couldn't find out why. Not until he saw one of the sources of his daily problems suddenly land on his note, barely having time for a gasp to escape him as it sank into the paper and another presence, this time with a voice to it, to make itself known in his mind.

"Well, well now you're one person I hadn't expected to ever have the pleasure to offer my assistance to Cat Noir." Hawk Moth's voice reverberated deep in Adrien's mind, blocking out Plagg and leaving only the two of them. Thankfully he didn't learn Adrien's true identity from the invasion.

"Well if your help being offered I'm sorry but I'm gonna have to decline." Adrien snapped sardonically, hands gripping the not tighter "So as the Lady would say 'Bye-bye butterfly.'"

"Now, now no need to be snippy." Hawk Moth's tone is condescending, as if he were talking to his young child before they threw a tantrum. He lets out a sigh before his tone turns neutral "Heartbreak is painful isn't it? It hurts to see your sweetheart in the arms of another, that grief is all consuming and it needs an outlet." One could practically hear the smirk in his voice as he added on "I can give you that, all you have to do is accept my offer."

"And steal Ladybug's Miraculous?" Adrien's voice is tense, he wishes he could feel Plagg and have his support at the moment but he held strong "Let me rethink, hmmmmm sorry it's still no."

"Don't you ever wonder why your powers are bad luck and nothing but destruction?" The question is abrupt, but before Adrien can make a retort the enigmatic villain carried on "Even your look, do you really think that looks like a hero's? You can't even cure my butterflies like Ladybug can. You dear boy were never meant to be a hero, you're meant to act from the shadows at best, and at worst you're a force of destruction and evil. Now what would Ladybug ever see in someone like you? Someone her total opposite, who can do no good on his own, and who clearly can't read the signs? You can't be good Cat Noir, but with my help at least your pain will be lessened."

Whatever Adrien was going to say before were stuck in his throat, green eyes widening in shock and he's left gapping and trying to come up with anything to prove Hawk Moth was wrong. He couldn't though, what if Hawk Moth was right? What if he and Plagg were meant only to do evil or to only be in the shadows? He couldn't find an answer, and no matter how much he wanted Plagg to ask him, even if the answer he would get would be sarcastic, the kwami was out of his reach. He was alone, once more and this time in a much worse situation.

Hawk Moth chuckled, before asking "So this is the last time I'll offer my help, will you take it Cat Noir?"

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Please read and review! Also I feel bad adding this but I am doing commissions, so if you could take a look at it or spread the word I'd be grateful ^u^ Here's the link: post/134933526672/writing-commissions


	2. Let the Game Begin

Hello once more! I can't tell you all how surprised at the number of reviews and views this has gotten from just _one_ chapter! I can't express my thanks for that enough! I hope this second chapter doesn't disappoint you all.

Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug or any of the characters. Just this piece of fiction.

* * *

Adrien wasn't at school the next day, and that had caused a minor disruption amongst the class. Nino had walked in alone, which had caused confusion for the students that had been there for a while, and immediately looked towards their shared desk space, surprise evident on his face when he realized it was empty. Everyone was worried, Adrien hadn't been late to school once, but they just assumed maybe he had a lesson or modeling gig that had come up and it was going to cause him to be a little late. Though the closer it got for class to start, the less likely that seemed and everyone started to wonder if Adrien was sick or if something had happened, but they had decided that they would just have to wait and see.

Marinette though had another reason to be worried, though she couldn't admit it out loud like she could her worry over Adrien. She was worried about Cat Noir and the way that he'd just ran off like that, she hadn't even really gotten to see him but she could tell he wasn't running just because his transformation was about to wear off. She was worried about what could be wrong with him, and she was admittedly miffed that he'd ran off without telling her anything. Unfortunately she couldn't just call him up like Nino could Adrien at lunch to find out what's wrong, she had to wait until the next time an akuma showed up or until their next patrol. Hopefully that would be soon though, the patrol option of course, so she could talk it out with him and possibly give him a piece of her mind if needed.

Miss Bustier walked in and the class had to push aside all their worries and focus on their lessons, though they all would shoot glances toward the empty seat of their missing friend.

* * *

Lunch had rolled around, and now everyone was starting to settle back into their seats except for Adrien who was still missing.

"I tried everything. I called and texted about five times and I even stopped by his place but that receptionist lady said she hadn't seen him all day." Nino said to Alya and Marinette, his distress clear on his face and in his voice. He shook his head "That's just not right, how can the lady who schedules everything in his day not know where he is?"

"Maybe an emergency came up?" Alya suggested, trying to sooth both her best friend and Nino "It's possible he and his dad had to go somewhere?"

"And not tell Ms. Snooty?" Nino raised a brow before shaking his head more concern showing up on his face. "Not likely unless it was something massive. Mr. Agreste would still call her to tell her to hold down the fort."

Before a retort could be made from either Marinette or Alya, Ms. Mendeleiev walked and started the class, giving the entire room a look telling them to be quiet.

Marinette couldn't focus on the lesson though, and given the fidgeting Nino was doing in his seat and the continuous glances toward Adrien's seat, and the sneaking of his hand towards his pocket where his phone was she could tell he wasn't either.

Marinette knew that Nino had to be the one taking Adrien's absence the worst, even more so then Chloe and her own proclaimed self-anguish, and she knew he wouldn't feel much better until he knew Adrien was okay. She could sympathize, she knew she'd be the same way if Alya suddenly disappeared like that and she had been when Alya had been akumatized.

Though Marinette also felt a little guilty, as her focus was divided between her worry for Adrien and her worry for Cat Noir. Adrien was her crush and her friend, at least she hoped greatly that he considered her a friend, and she knew more about him and could physically do more to help him than she could Cat, but Cat was also her crime fighting partner. He always had her back at the worst of times, and she trusted him greatly even if he could be a bit of a joker and a flirt he was still dependable and had the ability to land his feet and bounce back from any situation, and maybe the fact she knew she couldn't just go to his home or call his phone is what made her worry and anxieties over him worse.

Tikki had also gone very quiet after they had separated, and she had looked stunned about something. Since last night she'd been fidgety and would glance around nervously, always looking like she was trying to find something important but unable to and she wouldn't tell Marinette what it was. She had all but out right refused to, dodging the question as best she could and giving cryptic answers when she couldn't. That only made Marinette worry more, because if the kwami was worried about something, it had to be big and it could possibly involve Cat Noir and what had happened.

The situation was terrible in all aspects, and for the first time since she had found her miraculous, she felt like she couldn't help anyone or anything, even as Ladybug.

* * *

Marinette was seriously feeling like she took her partner for granted now.

A new akumatized villain had popped up, and while she had been sure that Cat Noir would show up to assist her and help stop the villain as he usually did, he never showed up. So all the pressure had fallen onto Ladybug, and while she did have her Lucky Charm and her Miraculous Cure, taking the villain down and getting the akuma were much harder when she had to do it solo and didn't have Cat's abilities to help her.

The fact that her worry had also shot up tenfold when he didn't make an appearance with a flirty line or a sarcastic comment for the monster didn't help matters in the least, and she would not admit just how unfocused that made her. She couldn't let the citizens of Paris down, she couldn't worry them or let them believe that she might fail. No, they had to believe that everything was fine, and hopefully just think Cat Noir had a secret mission of his own to attend to.

There was one other thing though that had caught Marinette's attention, a figure that had stayed just far enough away that she couldn't make out any details on them, but stayed close enough to let their presence known. They'd been watching the entire battle, following her every step of the way. She knew they were tracking her because when she and the villain had separated, they had made a point to go where she had ran to regroup and come up with a plan.

It was unnerving to say the least, but she couldn't be bothered with them, she had a more important task to handle that was actually causing damage to the city. She didn't even know when they appeared, she had just happened to catch them out of the corner of her eye and had been able to spot them no matter where she went. It caused a chill to go down her spine, and at first she wondered if they were working for Hawk Moth and he had gotten two victims in one day but they had never caused any trouble or moved to directly interfere on either side. They had disappeared shortly after she had cured the akuma and fixed the city, just vanished into thin air as if they were a phantom or never there to begin with. She had wondered in the back of her mind if that figure was what Tikki was worried about, if they could have been another miraculous holder and they were just seeing how she did before introducing themselves when that happened and after thinking over the fact that they hadn't caused any harm to anyone.

That thought was thrown out of the window very quickly, however, when she had gone off to get ready for her de-transformation and she had found a note against the wall of the building she went behind. It was taped to a rose, a black one oddly enough, with the name Ladybug written clearly on the front of it in a beautiful cursive. She had, secretly, hoped that it was from Cat Noir and took it down with little hesitation, only for her eyes to widen as she read the words in the same lovely cursive on it.

" _You did impressive Ladybug, but don't get too comfortable yet. This game has only just started, and if you make one misstep, you won't like the results. Trust me._

 _Sincerely,_

 _The cat in this game."_

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I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as well! Please keep reading and reviewing, I thank you all kindly for taking the time to.


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